Shelf Analysis: Typography in 2013 Teen Reads

It's been awhile since I've done a Shelf Analysis - mostly because no YA cover trends have really stuck out for me. But while perusing my 2013 shelf on goodreads, I noticed something somewhat usual... typography!

To those of you who are a bit confused by the term, typography is basically the art of aranging types to make things look gorgeous. To put that in book cover terms: covers where the focus is on the print of the title or the author's name, rather than an image.

Take a look at these upcoming YA books (this is a bit of a Waiting on Wednesday post, as well!) and you'll see what I mean!

Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

Out on September 10th 2013 by Katherine Tegen Books - goodreads

Black Out by Robison Wells 

Out on October 1st 2013 by Harper Teen - goodreads

The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White

Out on September 10th 2013 by Harper Teen - goodreads

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

Out on August 15th 2013 by Dial - goodreads

In The After by Demitria Lunetta

Out on June 25th 2013 by Harper Teen - goodreads

Snow White Must Die by Neil Neuhaus

Only out in Australia, I'm afraid! *cries* - goodreads 

Typography-focused covers are by no means a new thing, but it is rather unusual to see them in YA novels. My favourites are the covers of Not a Drop to Drink and Snow White Must Die - absolutely stunning! I have no idea when or why these covers came back into fashion, but I fully approve!

The post-Google Reader era: here's where I'm headed

So, unless you've been hiding under a blogger-rock, you've probably heard that Google Reader will be shutting its doors on July 1st, 2013. Needless to say, everyone is rather pissed.

But, the show must go on. And, to be honest, this shutdown doesn't have me in a meltdown. There are a lot of Reader alternatives out there, if you know where to look! Here are a few suggestions for those of you still trying to decide:

Kick it old school: RSS feed readers

My Feedly subscriptions, "magizine" style

Back in the day (read: 2009), I used to use a great RSS manager called FeedDemon (read about its demise here). It was brilliant - like a bloggy newspaper. Then, Google Reader went out and bought them and, though they "kept" the original software, I ended up stuck in Google Reader somehow.

But now there are a bunch of new alternatives out there now: like Feedly and The Old Reader.

Personally, I am liking the look of Feedly. I was already using it on my iphone, and have since discovered that its Google Chrome and Firefox versions are just as super shiny. It is a super sleek, customizable way to read your feeds, and gives you lots and lots of reading-style options. Do you like your blogs magazine style? Image heavy? Text only? Feedly gives you those options. If you are interested in migrating over to Feedly, click here for a few tips!

The Old Reader is also pretty nifty. You do have to do a bit more clicking in order to get your google reader feeds imported into it, but it isn't all that hard. You just need to export/import your RSS subscriptions, although there is quite a queue at the moment as we all start rushing about trying to find something new to use. Still give it a shot! I've been playing around with it and really love how "in control" of my feeds I am.

Go new school: Bloglovin', pulse, Flipboard, etc.

Bloglovin' page for Dead Book Darling.

For all you hipsters, there are a tonne-and-a-half of sites out there delivering that  Pinterest-style look. I am not, admittedly, a big fan of most of them... but whatever keeps you reading! Check out: Bloglovin', pulse, and flipboard (only for iphones/Androids)

Bloglovin' is my favourite of these services so far.  It is one of those sites that - up until now - had been primarily used by beauty and fashion bloggers. It is very, very visual. It's sleek and shiny and, well, pretty much everything Google Reader wasn't. That said, I am not its biggest fan. As you have to have an "account" to follow your favourite blogs and to include your own feed on the site*, I feel rather like I've joined the blogger version of facebook. I prefer my readers a bit less social, to be honest.

But who knows - maybe it will grow on me.

* I feel like I may be wrong about that... correct me if I am?

We're all still here!

Don't hate me, but I'm actually kinda looking forward to the end of Google Reader. I am hoping it will help wean people off of GFC and Reader, and on to niftier platforms. I, for one, will be using Feedly and The Old Reader (I am still playing the field a bit). Whichever you choose, never fear - all your favourite bloggers are still here!

Review - The Holders by Julianna Scott

The Holders by Julianna Scott
Librarything / Goodreads

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Received for review from author

Rating: 3 stars
Pages: 276
Publisher: Strange Chemistry (US and UK)

Summary: 17-year-old Becca has spent her whole life protecting her brother - from their father leaving and from the people who say the voices in his head are unnatural. When two strangers appear with apparent answers to Ryland's "problem" and details about a school in Ireland where Ryland will not only fit in, but prosper, Becca is up in arms. She reluctantly agrees to join Ryland on his journey and what they find at St. Brigid's is a world beyond their imagination. Little by little they piece together information about their family's heritage and the legend of the Holder race that decrees Ryland is the one they've been waiting for. But they are all, especially Becca, in for a surprise that will change what they thought they knew about themselves and their kind.

Thoughts: I have some mixed feelings about The Holders. There were some things I really enjoyed, but there was a lot that made me feel... iffy.

Let's start off with the good, though. The Holders has a Harry Potter-esque vibe to it that I could totally get behind. Talented, magical kids whisked off to the British Isles? Say no more. Perhaps that's a wee bit too referential for some, but I didn't mind. I also really liked the fact that the book centred around a brother-sister relationship (I'm a Supernatural fan - siblings give me feelings).

That said, The Holders felt very much like a debut novel: there was a lot of tell with absolutely no show. The book was a series of conversations and half of the drama came from people not having the right conversation at the right time. Um, hello? That's not drama, that's stupidity. And add to that, you're expecting me to believe that this girl will hop on a plane to Ireland with her brother and then wait weeks upon weeks to get all the info needed to make her final decision? Hell, even Harry Potter made sure to get all the juicy details out of Hagrid before he hopped on the Hogwarts Express. And he was eleven.

It was all just a bit too easy; it was all just a bit too simple. Maybe this book would have been better in the hands of a 12/13-year-old... someone who hasn't already read this particular story. Especially if that kid is a girl - because, despite the somewhat rocky beginning, Scott managed to take a rather icky, non-feminist Universe and spin it on its head. Without giving away any plot twists, I do have to give a shout-out to Scott for the old-fashion "girl power" she snuck into this book.

Bottom line? Not bad but not great - don't go in expecting anything too original.

Interview with Julianna Scott + Giveaway (US)!

Today, I'm happy to be part of Julianna Scott's blog tour for her debut young adult novel, The Holders. The book hits the shelves on March 5th in the US and March 7th in the UK.

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Julianna Scott

First off, congrats on the publication of The Holders. It's tough out there for a debut novelist!

Thanks so much! Yeah, it’s definitely rough out there, but my fabulous agent, Carly Watters, smoothed the process considerably. :-)
 
Could you tell me where your idea for The Holders came from? Were you lead there by a character or by the idea of the mythology?
Both actually. And a jewelry website. I’d had all this random idea for a story floating around in my head for awhile and I came across a Celtic jewelry website one day, and everything just sort of fell into place.
 
Are the "holders" based on existing lore or mythology?
I took some creative license of course, a good majority of it is actually based on several different Celtic legends and characters of Celtic lore.
 
Ireland is one of the main "characters" in your book; the atmosphere, the culture, even the language are key elements of The Holders. What was it about Ireland made you want to feature it so heavily? Do you think the book would have "worked" set elsewhere?
It is possible that it could have worked elsewhere, but that would have largely depended on the lore and mythology of the area. A lot of the lore in The Holders comes directly from Celtic Mythology, so that was a large reason Ireland worked so well. That, plus I have always found something beautifully mysterious about the atmosphere and the language that is almost as haunting as it si welcoming, and I knew I wanted that feel incorporated in my story.
 
Is The Holders part of a trilogy, or do you think you'll be exploring this world across a number of books?

It is planned for four books, but we’ll see what happens. :-)
 
What authors or novels have influenced your writing most? And, if you could pick just one, what writer (living or dead!) would you want to have as your beta?
Oh wow, that’s a hard one. As far as influenced so, I would have to say Richelle Mead. She has such an amazing talent for creating awesome characters. As for a beta, that one is really tough as I am so intimidated by other writers. I have what you might call an inferiority complex when it comes to writing. That isn’t to say I’m not confident in my work, because I am. It’s just that when I think of myself as ‘being a writer’ it is always subconsciously followed by ‘but I’ll never be a writer writer, like (fill in name of successful writer here). I would LOVE to have the chance to meet Jane Austen, and the Bronte sisters, and—to bring it to the modern day—Robin McKinley, as I love and admire their work, but I don’t think I could ever actually let any of them read or critique my stuff.

And, finally, as a debut novelist yourself, what advice would you give to aspiring authors out there?
Write. Seriously, just write. Don’t worry about telling the rest of the world that you are a writer, or getting followers on Twitter, or having everyone you know to ‘Like’ your author Facebook page, or chatting on writing forums, or starting a blog, or any of the other things that so many ‘writers’ spend their time doing. That stuff may make you feel like a writer, but the only thing that makes you a writer is writing. There will be more than enough time for the rest later, trust me. Spend your time writing, not ‘being a writer’.

Thank you for the great answers, Julianna!

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All about the author

Julianna was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and spent the majority of her educational career convinced she would be a musician. However, after receiving her music degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, she realized that she'd been born in the wrong era for her dreams of singing jazz to adoring fans clad in zoot-suits and flapper dresses to come true, and began to wonder if her true calling might be elsewhere.

While Julianna had always excelled in writing throughout school, she'd never considered it career possibility until about three years ago, when she'd gotten her first story idea and decided to go for it. She grabbed her laptop, started typing away, and has never looked back.

Website ⎟ Twitter ⎟ Holders Facebook Page

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Giveaway

Julianna is giving away some amaaaaazing prizes to celebrate the launch of The Holders. If you are in the US or Canada, click away!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday - Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are being eagerly anticipated.

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

Goodreads - MG - September 2013 by Bloomsbury

Fortunately, the Milk will be a time-travelling adventure for young readers featuring aliens, dinosaurs, volcano gods and a pint of milk that saves the universe! The book will be illustrated throughout by Chris Riddell, and will be the third Neil Gaiman project that Chris Riddell has worked on. Chris has previously illustrated the tenth anniversary edition of Coraline and The Graveyard Book, for which he was Kate Greenaway Medal shortlisted.

Thoughts: Ok, first off, who isn't a Neil Gaiman fan? Seriously, who? If you've ever meet one, make sure they report to hospital for brain damage - because that ain't normal.

Fortunately, the Milk sounds like the wackiest, most brilliant thing ever. Reminds of something Douglas Adams would come up with (and, no, I don't have a higher compliment than that one). If you still aren't sold, let Neil pitch it himself: